GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
Swinging "hard" promotes upper-body control. I personally swing as fast as my hips can snap-rotate. My legs are exhausted after 18 holes today.
Would you play better if you didn't try to swing as hard?
Since switching to OL i feel my tempo has improved. And I KNOW i am playing better
I hear it all the time too but it is so hard for me to slow down.
For me, if I start trying to swing hard I grip to tight and go aggressively at the ball and my clubhead speed is actually slower. When I stay loose and try to swing fast then good I typically get through the ball better
GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
Funny you posted this. On my last shot yesterday to a very small green, uphill, 165 out, I said out loud, "LOOSEY GOOSEY NOW" and put the ball within 8 feet of the pin....then 4 putted but that's a different story! LOL! Loose = fast, no doubt, and there's no way on Earth to try and control the face at impact. There's a trust factor that is ultimately not mechanical despite claims to be able to manipulate the face at impact, unless of course one is swinging slow enough to monitor every move.
Predominantly only one club requires 100% effort.....Every other club is for specific distance. So occasionally I will overswing my driver. Every other club, not too often will an overswing occur.
I
Often have the ball go longer than expected when I'm able to swing fast & smooth. I still struggle with swinging hard and going at the ball..
I recently went to a 3/4 swing for almost everything after a few lessons. I don't hit the ball as far, but man I hit the ball pure and on target. And I hit it a little lower too.
GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
Why would an 8 iron swing speed, other than slower due to a shorter club, be any different than a driver?
I've seen plenty of really good players with shorter, 3/4 swings absolutely crush the ball. Whatever works....stay with it.
When I am swinging an 8 iron I'm looking to hit it an exact distance. When I am swinging my driver, I'm looking to hit it as far as I can. So for me I might overswing a driver but rarely an iron. Unless I'm between clubs and feeling frisky and choose the shorter iron.
- Thread starter
- #86
Every now and then I put an 8-iron swing on a Driver and ?
There are some comments on Tempo in here that are really good. If I can stay on tempo and not rush the transition at the top, that is when I swing best.
Growing up playing playing baseball I learned to put my body into the throw when pitching or throwing out a running to throw it as hard as I could. My swing is very similar in that I can really transfer my weight to get power. Slowing down my swing really throws my tempo and timing off. I have a little bit slower take away and a smooth transition and then explode. The key is that I don’t swing hard and out of my shoes but instead stay loose and don’t tense up. This allows me to make a powerful swing using my natural timing.
- Staff
- #88
I think I would play better if I was able to maintain my tempo through the round...
GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
Great post! I didn't play baseball but instead played tennis. The baseline strokes in tennis, other than drop shots or cuts, are similar to golf in terms of staying loose to get a what I call a "whip action". In setting up to serve, I would look where I wanted to hit the ball (visualization). After that, there was nothing more to think about because the rest was up to instinct and a vast network of body parts to send the ball in the intended direction. More often than not it went mostly as intended from a directional standpoint. The second I started "thinking" about swinging, my body would tense-up and most often the ball would hit the net, or sail long. Plus, we see tennis players like Nadal come off the ground on ground-strokes, thus they use the ground for power in a very similar manner to golf.
I've found the faster I rotate the lower body, the more the arms drop into position without "trying" to drop them into position. The key is to remain loose so the arms don't slow down in transition.
I think you are spot on about the visualization aspect. One thing I really started to notice this year is on a few of the holes that have trees or a land mark to carry, I really seem to hit more consistent drives straight where I'm aiming when I use an aim point like the top of tree. Then I can get out to a wide open fairway and just hit it and the dispersion is worse. One of the things I really want to work on this year is focusing a little more before the shot and getting that visualization for all my shots. Nothing extreme, just a few seconds and then get up and hit it.
GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
In reality, and at least in my experience, my body oddly responds to the visualization of a shot because it's basically a subliminal instruction that is executed without thought.
Yes - I think each of us have our own rhythm. But I find that when I have good rhythm and don't attempt to work the speed, you get better contact, accuracy, and ball still goes far due to better contact.
SunnyWalker
Well-known member
At my age (60) better contact would probably help me more than a little speed.
When I was younger and had a fuller swing, sometimes it helped to swing faster and other times it felt like I was swinging in slow motion. (shrug)
When I was younger and had a fuller swing, sometimes it helped to swing faster and other times it felt like I was swinging in slow motion. (shrug)
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2020
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Yes for me. I play my best when my tempo is synched, my swing speed actually goes up, but I feel like I am not swing hard.
+1
Could not agree more with this statement. If I'm loose and swinging with good rhythm and tempo, I tend to play well. If my tempo is off ..... it's a whole different ballgame.
I need to SLOW DOWN on my irons to get that left to right that I crave!!
Luchnia
You will never conquer golf.
I was speaking to Champion this morning, they said as a rule iron swing speeds are normally less than driver swings by quite a bit - average joe golfer. He said average iron swing speed around 75-85 and driver around 85-95. Of course it all depends on the individual. I know for me my irons are much slower swung than my driver. I swing my driver around high 80s to low 90s and my irons around mid 80s.
GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
The variation makes sense because of the length of the clubs, and weight factor. Actually, a difference of 5 mph between your iron and driver swing is far less than mine. My driver swing is roughly 100, and my 7 iron is around 80. It's possible my irons are heavier vs. my driver, and your irons are lighter compared to your driver.
Years ago, I went to an exhibition put on by Couples. He asked the crowd to watch his swing with every club, from PW to Driver, and he asked the crowd to tell him which swing was faster. A majority said the driver was a faster swing. Couples then said, "nope, all the swings were exactly the same speed, the driver looks faster because it's a longer club with more whoosh sound". Then he went back through each club again and asked the crowd to watch the speed of his hip rotation vs. the club head. At that point it was obvious that there was no perceptible difference.
Easier said than done for me. I'm aggressive by nature at least with my golf swing. I know that swinging easier gets me better results, I just won't listen. 
I swing, or at least try to, smooth with power. That means I try to get the most out of the swing without over swinging. People will say they can back off The Driver to keep from hitting it too far on a particular hole. I can’t. If I ‘back off’ it’s a guaranteed smothered hook. I will hit a 3W harder and get a better result. I would rather go harder with an 8 than back off a 7. Timing gets all messed up otherwise
GolfLivesMatter
Well-known member
I agree RayG. Consistent speed, whatever the speed without getting wild is the best path because then your body knows the tempo and can get accustomed to the speed.